For those who don’t know, I am a huge Animal Crossing fan. So when rumblings of Amiibo support and new features being added to Animal Crossing: New Leaf arose earlier this year, I was really happy.

Animal Crossing New Leaf was released in North America in May of 2013 to critical acclaim. The overall fresh new look to the series and added features quickly made the game the best of the series in the eyes of both critics and fans alike. Being the mayor of your own town and giving players an expanded list of choices to make was warmly welcomed.

But this was in 2013, and many new things have happened in the world of both Animal Crossing and Nintendo since then. Villager was a featured character in Super Smash Bros. for both Wii U and 3DS. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival were both released in 2015, much to negative critical reception. Alongside the aforementioned spin-offs, an Animal Crossing Amiibo series was released to take advantage of the successful Amiibo craze.

Big Animal Crossing fans such as myself were left with a collection of Amiibo that really did not have any functionality outside of the mediocre spin-offs, and a sour taste of the series after some not so fun times with those games.

Out of no where, Nintendo announced that Animal Crossing: New Leaf would be getting a patch, close to 4 years after its initial release. Not only would this patch include support for Amiibo, but would introduce new mechanics, currency, areas, and characters, all in one free update.

This is completely unheard of from not only a Nintendo game, but from video games in general. Outside of a subscription based game, when was the last time a game got additional content 3 years after its release?

While Animal Crossing New Leaf: Welcome Amiibo is definitely a way for Nintendo to sell more Amiibo, I am grateful that one of my favorite and most played Nintendo 3DS games gets a second life. Not only that, but my Animal Crossing Amiibo figures and cards get a new life!

I plan to write a review of the update, detailing all of the features the new expansion adds to the overall game. Expect that within a few days, as I need to play more of the game to fully experience all of the new features added in this update.

Secret Stage Productions

Secret Stage Productions is a group of creators based in Metro-Detroit that are actively producing the kinds of content that they enjoy, ranging anywhere from podcasts to videos to artwork to written pieces. Each member brings their own eclectic interests and a unique skill set to the team.